With the kickoff of the XFL season, it’s not just the coaches and players who are excited.
All day, the San Antonio community was in the football spirit to support the San Antonio Brahmas and local businesses.
Businesses around the Alamodome say the excitement is palpable with the start of the @XFL2023! Customers are enjoying the sunshine, cold drinks, and of course football 🏈@ksatnews pic.twitter.com/wtDthSE3Tv
— Leigh Waldman (@LeighWaldman) February 19, 2023
“We have the San Antonio Missions, why not have us a football team? We always go to the Missions games so maybe we’ll start attending the football games,” Leslie Broich said as he watched the game.
The first game had a great turnout at the Alamodome.
One group wanted to go cheer on the Brahmas in-person but couldn’t get tickets last minute.
“We were actually gonna go to the game but sold out tickets, so we decided to stop by here at Dakota on the way back to the car and we ended up coming here to watch the rest of it,” Cody Lynch said.
The Dakota East Side Ice House owner Kent Oliver said they had a busier day than usual with the flow of eager new fans.
”We were excited about them coming back because we did really, really well when the Commanders were here for that short season so we know that San Antonians love football,” Kent Oliver said.
Up the road at Alamo Beer Company, they’re seeing the same flow of traffic and people ready to try the Brahmas-themed beer.
“You know, we usually have the games on TV all the time so people are here to watch them but not like this. This is...this is a beautiful crowd we got today,” Kevin Lenzy, shift manager at Alamo Beer Company said.
Despite the home opener loss, everyone KSAT 12 News spoke with is wishing the Brahmas the best of luck on their opening season.
“We kinda wish we had an NFL team. I think most San Antonians would say so but we’re cheering them on. We hope it takes off,” Gabriel Castillo said.
The businesses we talked to said this boost in traffic from the game is the extra push they need to keep recovering from the pandemic.
The Brahmas have a few away games on the schedule but will be back at the Alamodome on Sunday, March 19th.